Snowed In || lirry

Part One

Christmas. The name alone brought with it a cheery, uplifted feeling. The whole season was, perhaps, the most hectic time of the year; and yet it was the holiday to put all other holidays to shame.

That is if you weren't Harry Styles, who was fairly sure he would be absolutely miserable and alone this particular Christmas.

The deflating realization had come to the boy merely one week before the big day itself, as he enjoyed a few hours of downtime with two of his best mates after a chaotic end-of-term schedule.

"Christmas," one such friend, Goldsmiths' own Louis Tomlinson, began, "is literally the worst thing that can happen to a uni student." Beside him, Harry rolled his eyes.

From across the small living room of the flat, Liam Payne, another of Harry's mates, was shuffling through note folders to figure out which ones he'd need for the next term. "Don't be such a scrooge, Louis," he admonished. "It's not that bad."

Louis snorted. "Easy for you to say, maybe, Mr. I'm-So-Smart-I-Go-To-The-Third-Top-School-In-The-Entire-Fucking-Universe. I don't know how it is at LSE, but for us lowly peasants at Goldsmiths, these last few weeks have been the most intensive and soul-crushing days of the entire year."

"Third economics school," Liam muttered, trying in vain to force away the red in his cheeks

"It's funny," Harry decided to chime in, perhaps in an attempt to hide his smile at seeing Liam look so flustered, "that you complain so much about the season, Lou, and yet Niall was telling me just the other day that you've agreed to go with him to a lights festival in Dublin."

Liam stopped ruffling through his binders to look wide-eyed at Louis. "Did I hear right?" he asked. Louis huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Is Louis Tomlinson going to a Christmas lights festival?"

Harry didn't know what was better, the blush in Louis' face or the precious look of gleeful mischief that pulled Liam's mouth into a wide grin. Probably the latter, honestly, but most certainly not because Harry was completely gone for the boy or anything.

"Yes, now that you ask, I am. I'm going with my boyfriend to a festival because he's cute and naïve and oh-so-innocent, and if being surrounded by Christmas lights and depressed old men dressed as reindeer and fat Russian saints makes him happy, then dammit, it makes me happy, too," Louis stated with a decisive nod of his head. Liam's grin faded from a sneer to more of a soft, crinkly-eyed smile, like he was genuinely proud of his grump of a friend.

Harry chuckled and shook his head. It wasn't anything new that Louis was utterly wrapped around Niall's finger- the little Irishman had come into the group's life a year and a half ago, and it was verging on the impossible not to immediately fall for his enthusiasm and childlike, wonder-filled eyes. How he ended up with ever-sarcastic and pessimistic Louis would forever remain one of life's great mysteries.

"Well, that's lovely. And really adorable," Liam decided, finally dropping his books on the coffee table and settling back in his chair. "Wish my plans were nearly as romantic as, ah, what was it? Depressed men playing as reindeer and fat Russian saints?" he mused, drawing his legs into the chair with him.

"If only we could all have my luck, young Liam, the world would be a much better place," Louis replied sardonically. "But, for curiosity's sake, what are your plans?"

Harry sat back on the couch and brought up a leg to rest over his knee. He was trying rather desperately not to appear too interested in Liam's holiday schedule. Personally, he had no big plans- his parents wouldn't be home, nor his sister Gemma, and if Niall and Louis were going off as well then it was the perfect chance to finally divulge the feelings that had been building in Harry's heart for Liam over the past two years.

Of course, though, because fate was hilarious and loved giving Harry examples of why he really should stop hoping for the best, Liam's reply was absolutely not what Harry wanted it to be.

"Just, you know, hanging around in Wolverhampton with some guys I knew when I was in secondary. My parents are taking this year to go off for once, and my sisters aren't going home either, so I figured I'd catch up with my old mates from school. Andy and them, you know."

Of course. Andy Samuels. Not that he was a bad guy or anything, in reality, he was most likely a perfectly amiable fellow; but, at the moment, Harry would have liked very much to make this Andy disappear for a bit.

"Sounds fun," Harry forced out through his nauseatingly fake smile. Christmas cheer officially over.

"Yeah, I get to sit around while they get drunk and listen to Andy wax poetic about some slut he met in a bar a week ago. Fun times," Liam grinned sarcastically.

It was probably bad that Harry was happy that it sounded as though Liam would be miserable this holiday season, as well.

"What about you, Styles, eh?" Louis questioned, poking Harry in the shoulder. "Anything big?"

"Just the normal stuff," Harry shrugged, lying through his teeth and smiling all the while. "Chill out with the family, you know, say hello to Gemma," lie, "stop in on my dad," lie, "dinner with mum and Robin." lie. "The usual."

"Aw, who's getting all settled and domestic?" Louis sneered.

Harry snorted. His mood had soured considerably since the start of the conversation. "Says the one giving up a Christmas of partying to go to a lights festival with his boyfriend."

Liam grinned. "He's got you there, Louis."

"You're both dicks," Louis muttered.

And so ended Harry's dream of a perfect Christmas with Liam, where, through some holiday miracle, they fall unconditionally in love and spend the entire season tucked away under the mistletoe and drinking eggnog- if only for the novelty of saying they'd taken part in the tradition. No, this beautiful scenario was stolen away by some bloke in the West Midlands who, apparently, took up Liam's time by drinking and spewing nonsense about slutty girls.

Honestly, Harry could think of so many better ways to employ Liam's time.